#richard strand

Society has progressed past the need for hot Strand. This crotchety boomer wears a pocket protector and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Mystery: Upside-Down Faces and Face-Wearing
Updated: 8/07/16

SPOILERS THROUGH 2x11 


1. Episode 1x04 is about the Festival of the Upside Down Face in Charlesworth, WA. In 1957, a 17 year old girl named Sarah Benning, who was bullied by the other girls in her class, murdered the homecoming queen, Catherine Williams. She slit Williams’ throat, and the story is that she sliced off Williams’ face and stitched it back on, upside-down. 

Townspeople say that the spirit of Catherine Williams is the girl with the upside-down face, and to commemorate her, they wear their Halloween masks upside-down for the festival. However, Crystal DeNevers disputes this, saying that it’s actually Sarah Benning who haunts the town, and that she stitched Williams’ face on her own, upside-down. 

2. Later, Sheriff Boyd Osenga notes that both the graves of Sarah Benning and Catherine Williams were desecrated. Nothing remains of Sarah Benning. Catherine Williams’ body remains, but someone had removed her face.  (1x04)

3.Clara Simone, the psychic from the séance at Glushka, describes to Alex the first demon she ever saw as a child:

Simone: I tried to speak to him, I asked him his name. And he opened his mouth and all these flies flew out of him. It was like a dark cloud pouring out of him. And all the flies gathered on my ceiling, totally covering it. And then the boy whispered his name. Aleister. And as soon as I repeated it, these great, big black wings appeared out of his back, and the boy’s face peeled away and that’s how I saw the face of my first demon.

4. Professor Alice Kermode describes the cave paintings at Boulder Field in Bath, England, close to where Percival Black lived for a time. She says that her guess is that they were left by an Anglo-Saxon group, owing to their militaristic nature, though they might be too modern for that, possibly being as recent as the 16th century. She describes the characters being “placed in several rows and there is a tall figure at the head. Perhaps a general or commander.”

When Nic and Alex look at photos of the cave paintings, Alex notes she sees “what appeared to be hundreds of black shapes, barely more than stylized stick figures. They were arranged in rows.” Nic says the tall figure appears to be a “scary shadow leader.” It is approximately five times taller than all of the other figures, with its long arms raised above its head.

Further down the cave wall are photos of “black shapes in a circle around a tall central figure, whose arms were held wide like Jesus on the cross. And, again, the one in the center was much taller than the others.” When they zoom in on the tall figure, they see “its mouth was where the eyes should be, and its eyes were where the mouth should be.” It has an upside-down face. (1x11)

5. There are similar cave drawings at Urraca Mesa, NM. Alex says they contain “rows of dark figures, very militaristic, but they were surrounded by concentric circles, and outside those circles stood a giant figure. Tall. It didn’t have a face. None of the figures did. But this one had something interesting, it looked like a large crown that hung down off the head. It was hard to tell what it was supposed to be, but the connection to Kermode’s photographs sent a chill through me.” 

Alex visits Urraca Mesa with John Uvela for a guide, who says most people think the petroglyphs there portray a war that the Anasazi fought against evil spirits. Of the circles surrounding the apparent shadow “army,” Uvela says that they depict a gateway, and that Anasazi beat back the evil spirits to the gateway and then built totems to keep the gateway locked, two of which are still standing.

Alex then sees a petroglyph where there is a large symbol  etched into the wall. “It was a circle, about five feet in diameter. Inside the circle, a horizontal line and below that line, two dots side by side. Like a pair of eyes.” Another upside-down face. (1x12)

6. Alex describes the following scene at the exorcism of “John”:

Alex: It was hard to get a clear frame, due to the shaky camera. But there, on the wall opposite John’s feet, were symbols. Numbers. Circles. Pentagrams. And at the center, what appeared to be a face. A face with the eyes where the mouth should be, and the mouth where the eyes should be. This was not a church. This was something else entirely. (2x07)

7. In 2x05, the PNWS team receives a photo of Keith Dabic from Glushka. In 2x11, after learning of Dabic’s potential death, they re-examine the photo to find a seam at his hairline. His eyes have also changed. They surmise that someone else is wearing Keith’s face.

Mystery: Pentagrams and Demonic Symbols 
Updated: 8/16/16

SPOILERS THROUGH 2x12 


1. Keith Dabic’s band, Hastur Rising, features “Satanic” symbols on their album covers. (1x03)

2. Alex describes Simon Reese’s room as having numbers and symbols drawn on one of the walls in black crayon or chalk. Near the middle, there is a pentagram in a double circle. (1x06)

3  In that same episode, a pentagram within two circles, arcane symbols, and numbers are found in a book that Trent has. Trent denies drawing them. The implication is that somehow, Simon Reese has drawn them. (1x06)

4. While they are at Three Rivers, Trent suffered a seizure while Alex was interviewing Simon Reese. In his room, they find the pentagram within a double circle, but this time, bigger– almost six feet tall. (1x06)

5. Dr. Strand and Alex visit the cabin where Sebastian Torres had been found. Strand says it looks like someone had been trying to summon a demon, based on the numbers and their configuration, placed around a shadowy face just like the one that had previously been found in Sebastian’s closet. Strand describes the face as “demonic… it’s what’s known in ancient literature as an elemental… Asog, Aka Manah. Grigori.” (Grigori being an arch-demon encountered in the exorcism of Jessica Wheldon.) The cabin also features the pentagram motif, a devil’s door, as well as a spot where sunlight creates a cross at certain times of the day. (1x07)

6. Later, Alex questions Simon about the symbols they found in the cabin. Simon states that it wasn’t a pentagram, and asks her if the symbols were found in a church. When Alex says no, Simon replies, “Well, somebody was worshiping… something.” (1x07)

7. A Ouija-like demon board is found to have a pentagram in a double circle on its underside. It is also covered in other symbols and numbers. (1x08)

8. Numbers, symbols, and a pentagram are found carved into the floor under Katie Yi’s bed. Alex notes that it is “certainly similar” to those she encountered with Sebastian Torres and Simon Reese. (2x01)

9.Wendy Hochman finds a pentagram in two concentric circles with strange symbols around them under her son, Robbie’s, crib. Alex notes that they are the same symbols previously seen in the cases of Sebastian Torres, Simon Reese, and Katie Yi. (2x03)

10. In 2x03, Gloria Cohen, rare book dealer and apparent demon fangirl, describes the book found on the poacher/ potential Brother of the Mount from Colville National Forest.

Cohen: The spells in this grimoire are actually quite unique. The first half of the book is filled with cure-alls, medicines, mostly boiled roots and tree branches and the like, but it’s the second half of the book that’s quite… compelling. It appears to be a collection of ways to bring demons into this world. There’s a lot of talk of portals and symbols, things you can draw on the floor or the walls, ways to open a gateway to the other side.

Alex: Hell?

Cohen: I think we can safely assume they’re talking about Hell, yes.

11.  “Arcane” symbols are found all over the walls, obscured in blood, in the room in which Maddie Franks was murdered. (2x05)

12. Alex describes the following scene at the exorcism of “John”:

Alex: It was hard to get a clear frame, due to the shaky camera. But there, on the wall opposite John’s feet, were symbols. Numbers. Circles. Pentagrams. And at the center, what appeared to be a face. A face with the eyes where the mouth should be, and the mouth where the eyes should be. This was not a church. This was something else entirely. (2x07)

13. Steve the Dungeon Master TL;DRs about how pentacles are related to the Golden Ratio, sacred geometry, and divine order. (2x08)

14. A pentacle within a double circle and strange equations are found at the scene of Edward Lewis’s murder. (2x09)

15. Likewise, the same pentacle within a double circle and numbers are found at the site of the apparent suicide (but probably murder) of eight Brothers of the Mount in West Waddell Creek State Wilderness, CA. (2x09)

16. Simon Reese leaves a voicemail for Alex in the season 2 finale:

“I’m sure by now you’ve realized the interconnectedness of all things. Or, at least the interconnectedness of your things. The children, the shadows, the doors, they’re all… they’re here for Him.

“Some call him the Adversary, some call him other things, but if you build it, he will come. And when he does, he brings chaos, and madness, and death.

"What you’re calling the Unsound? That wasn’t what you thought it was. You weren’t going to die within a year. That was only the first gate. There are five gates, Alex. You have to hear all five in a row in order to be infected.

"You see, Alex, it’s a curse… it’s a virus. The end is not coming with a bang, but within each of us. Those who hear the five movements of the Mysterium, in order, will be followed by a darkness, by evil. When they turn out the lights, their darkness will be a little darker than most. When they look into the shadows, they’ll see a little farther than most. And when the time is come, they will enter his kingdom, and the world will be lost. Goodbye, Alex.”  (2x12)

Mystery: The Advocate and the Adversary
Updated: 8/16/16

SPOILERS THROUGH 2x12

1. Brayden Court, the man with whom Coralee had an “indiscretion,” likens Strand to “the adversary,” AKA, The Devil (as he was quoting the Bible). Court believes that Strand killed Coralee. (1x05)

2. Edward Lewis, the member of the Brothers of the Mount who kidnapped Sebastian Torres, asks Strand, “during those quiet times, when it’s just you and the darkness, have you ever felt an other?” He also says that The Advocate has been watching Strand “all his life.” He then links Simon Reese to Sebastian Torres, saying both are “gifted” children. (1x12)

3. Strand believes that Thomas Warren is The Advocate because he’s a lawyer. Nic questions this. (2x03)

4. A hacker claims to have a picture of The Advocate and says that as of 2015, he is “recruiting.” Among his intended recruits: a special prosecutor who took down fraudulent bankers in Iceland (Olafur Hauksson), Elon Musk, Richard Strand. (2x07)

5. A decoded message from a person believed to be Coralee Strand (left on the back of a painting from their honeymoon suite) instructs Richard, “Leave me. Find Advocate. Simon Reese.“ (2x08) 

6. E. Hausdorff repeatedly disturbed other patients at Riverview with talk of “the adversary.” Hausdorff also attempted to blind himself and peel his face off. (2x08)

7. Coralee Strand was an agent for “some kind of shadow organization led by the Advocate,” per Richard. As he relates the conversation they had in the bedroom of the AirBnB safe house, he says “ She told me that she fell in love with me, and continued to protect me because of that love. She indicated that she began protecting me from both sides at that point. That’s when they took her. That’s when she disappeared, when she turned on her own organization. She was on the run from her handlers.” Coralee further warns Richard that The Advocate had been watching him for a long time, and that they are preparing something “big.”

Notably, Coralee doesn’t know who the Advocate is, but she believes it could be Thomas Warren, and that he, through Daiva Corporation has been working together with the Order of the Cenophus to bring about “some kind of… something.” (2x12) For more information, see The Disappearance of Coralee Strand. 

8. Simon Reese leaves a long voice mail for Alex, in which he says: 

“I’m sure by now you’ve realized the interconnectedness of all things. Or, at least the interconnecteness of your things. The children, the shadows, the doors, they’re all… they’re here for Him.

“Some call him the Adversary, some call him other things, but if you build it, he will come. And when he does, he brings chaos, and madness, and death.

"What you’re calling the Unsound? That wasn’t what you thought it was. You weren’t going to die within a year. That was only the first gate. There are five gates, Alex. You have to hear all five in a row in order to be infected.

"You see, Alex, it’s a curse… it’s a virus. The end is not coming with a bang, but within each of us. Those who hear the five movements of the Mysterium, in order, will be followed by a darkness, by evil. When they turn out the lights, their darkness will be a little darker than most. When they look into the shadows, they’ll see a little farther than most. And when the time is come, they will enter his kingdom, and the world will be lost. Goodbye, Alex.” (2x12)

Mystery: Thomas Warren / DaivaCorp / Luciternica Resources
Updated 8/16/16

SPOILERS THROUGH 2x12

1. Daiva Corporation, a major international energy corporation, funds research into the paranormal. (2x09) Its CEO is Thomas Warren. Warren is on the Fortune 500 list. He is also described by Alex as “Sexy James Bond.” (2x01) Regularly scheduled to speak at conferences, Warren is reclusive and often cancels. (2x07) He splits his time between San Francisco, London, and Seattle, and travels frequently. (2x02)

2. For some reason, Thomas Warren contacts Alex under then name Carl Jenkins to set up a meeting, insisting Strand be there. He doesn’t say much of anything, but he does steal Strand’s coffee cup. (1x11)

3. DaivaCorp was behind the not-for-profit company bankrolling Strand’s speaking engagements in Seattle. (2x02)

4. Warren was involved in an archaeological dig in Hillah, Iraq. Strand believes this may have had something to do with Tiamat, and that Warren may have found the Horn of Tiamat. (2x03) For more information, see The Cult of Tiamat.

5. Because he is a lawyer, Strand believes Warren to be “the Advocate.” Strand also believes that Warren and Coralee are connected in some way, and that Warren “had something” on Coralee. (2x03)

6. Warren may have been present at the exorcisms of both Jessica Wheldon and “John” (false name). At John’s exorcism, men in business suits explained that there was a “new way” to fight Satan, but symbols relating to opening demonic portals (including the upside down face) were present there.  At John’s exorcism, these strange men used a machine to “cure” John of the outward signs of his possession. (2x07)

7. Simon Reese tells Alex to focus on finding Thomas Warren’s machine. “Find the machine, and you’ll find the man behind it.” (2x09)

8. Before her disappearance, Sammie the Hacker transmitted information to the TBT team in the form of a fax sound, which one of Nic’s friends (presumably MK) decoded. It included a handful of incorporation documents, research grants, and board of director lists. (2x09)

9. A subsidiary of DaivaCorp is Luciternica Resources, a robotics lab. Thomas Warren sits on the board of directors. They very likely produced the machine used on “John.” The machines were delivered to Warren under the guise of being Pachinko machines. (2x10)

10. The machines produced by Luciternica Resources feature symbols connected to the Cult of Tiamat. A small plate that looks like a serial number plate above the door to the back of the machine features the same symbol from cave paintings and Coralee’s ring. (2x10) The symbol also appears over a tomb in Cairo where, in 1955, a disputed page reported to be from the Gospel of Truth was unearthed. (2x11) For more information, see The Cult of Tiamat.

11. In 2x11, Thomas Warren attempted to set a meeting with Nic and Alex. After some clarification, Strand is allowed to come to the meeting, but no recording devices are allowed. As they are about to go in, they see a big security team heading their way, armed with guns. Just before the security team closes on them, Coralee shows up and (ostensibly) rescues them, saying “get into the van if you want to live.”

12. Continuing from 2x12, Coralee delivers Alex and Strand to a safehouse, where it is revealed that during their marriage, Coralee had been working for an organization run by the Advocate through Thomas Warren. As Warren’s agent, she was tasked with reporting Strand’s whereabouts and protecting him, confirming that the Advocate had been closely watching Strand. She warns him against Daiva Corporation, stating that they believe Strand’s family hold a “genetic key” crucial to their ends, and says she believes that they may be working in conjunction with the Order of the Cenophus. (2x12)  For more on this, see The Disappearance of Coralee Strand.

13. Strand finally meets with Thomas Warren in the season 2 finale, and Warren offers him a job on their team as they work on some “altruistic” project. As payment, Warren offers to fund The Strand Institute, whose coffers have dwindled over the years. Warren also reveals that Howard Strand did not, in fact, die in an accident, but was murdered. He gave Richard one of Howard’s journals, saying that Howard had worked for Daiva Corporation for seven years, and was in fact working there when he was murdered. (2x12) 

Mystery: Tall Paul / The Tall Shadow / Mr. Splitfoot
Updated: 8/16/16

SPOILERS THROUGH 2x12


1. A tall, dark shadow is seen in childhood photos of Robert Torres, and again in his wedding photos. (1x01) Robert also talks about strange occurrences in the family home, and of feeling followed. (1x02) Says that things stopped for a while during the time when Dr. Richard Strand was investigating the case. (1x02)

2. The same dark shadow mars all photos of Robert’s son, Sebastian Torres. (1x02)

3. Maria Torres, Sebastian’s mother began to be able to see the tall shadow figure, who she calls “the shadow man.” She describes it as a “tall person dressed in black. Freakishly tall, she said his head almost touched the ceiling.” Other paranormal researchers called it a “malevolent spirit.” Sebastian says that the man, whom he has named “Tall Paul” lives in his closet, which is marred with a frightening drawing. (1x02) This drawing later shows up in the cabin in which Sebastian is found after his abduction. (1x07)

4. At the University of Washington in 1993, a tall shadow appears to its leader, Dr. Roth, during a taped study done with the use of a Ouija board. The participants do not know that the board they are playing with is, in fact, a demon board. The underside of the board features a pentagram within two circles, as well as a number sequence. Michelle Braid, a participant in the survey, also saw the figure, which she describes as “this tall, dark thing.” She describes its smell as “almost like a musk, but rotten. Like a wet, rotting deer. It was overwhelming, and there was this… sound, as well. Kind of a dark, throbbing, static. It was horrible. I wish I’d never taken part in that.”  She further explains, it was “dark, but not black. More negative? Or kind of an absence of light. I don’t really know how to explain it, but it was terrifying. It had two legs, but like an animal: tall, thick, maybe like a deer. And it had really, long black hair covering its face. (pause) And it was… smiling.” (1x08)

5. Clara Simone may also have drawn a tall shadow during her automatic writing at the Glushka séance. (1x10)

6. Professor Alice Kermode describes the cave paintings at Boulder Field in Bath, England, close to where

Percival Black

lived for a time. She says that her guess is that they were left by an Anglo-Saxon group, owing to their militaristic nature, though they might be too modern for that, possibly being as recent as the 16th century. She describes the characters being “placed in several rows and there is a tall figure at the head. Perhaps a general or commander.”

When Nic and Alex look at photos of the cave paintings, Alex notes she sees “what appeared to be hundreds of black shapes, barely more than stylized stick figures. They were arranged in rows.” Nic says the tall figure appears to be a “scary shadow leader.” It is approximately five times taller than all of the other figures, with its long arms raised above its head.

Further down the cave wall are photos of “black shapes in a circle around a tall central figure, whose arms were held wide like Jesus on the cross. And, again, the one in the center was much taller than the others.” When they zoom in on the tall figure, they see “its mouth was where the eyes should be, and its eyes were where the mouth should be.” It has an upside-down face. (1x11)

7. Cave paintings featuring a tall shadow and an upside-down face very similar to those in Boulder Field are also found in Urraca Mesa, New Mexico. The cave might have likewise been used for ritualistic sacrifice by the Anasazi people according to John Uvela. He says that  most people think the petroglyphs there portray a war that the Anasazi fought against evil spirits. Of the circles surrounding the apparent shadow “army,” Uvela says that they depict a gateway, and that Anasazi beat back the evil spirits to the gateway and then built totems to keep the gateway locked, two of which are still standing. There is a prophecy that when the last two totems fall, a gateway will re-open and demons will be able to cross into our world. When Uvela was young, he personally witnessed a tall, shadowy creature fly from the mouth of the cave. Alex likens the figure to the one that Michelle Braid described, and specifically mentions its cloven foot, aka– a split foot. (1x12)

8. A brief glimpse of a dark shadow precedes the death of a crow in the home of Rebecca and Katie Yi. (2x01)

9. Cheryl Strand is able to see the “tall men” in the Black Tape titled “Cheryl.” She says they want to come in their house, and after her brother, Richard, opens the window, she says that they’re inside now. The camera pans towards a wall, and then back to Cheryl, who is staring at something unseen on the ceiling. She says “hello” to it. (2x05) As an adult, Cheryl describes them as “tall, thin giants.” Of the one inside the house, she says, “Yes. That one was tall. The top of its head would have touched the ceiling, but it was hunched over like something like… a twisted, crooked tree. It’s eyes were huge. Unblinking. Its arms were kind of shaking… as if it was getting ready to… it was excited. And there was a smell. A swampy… sick, musty sweat in the air. It smiled then. A crazed smile. I froze… and its fingers. They were long, incredibly long… it pointed at me.” She says that Richard was convinced that the tall men were after their family. (2x06)

10. From the tapes made about E. Hausdorff in 2x08: “Four patients are claiming nightly visitations by ghostly figures, and two of them claim that a tall, dark man came to them in their dreams and left illegible scribbles on their walls.”

11. A psychiatric patient, E. Hausdorff, screams about a “shadow army and the end of days.“ E. Hausdorff’s rooms at Riverview contain Three of the drawings of shadow men, similar to the ones from Urraca Mesa and the caves at Bath. After a “mass hysteria” sweeps the hospital, these drawings show up in several other of the patients’ rooms. (2x08)

12. “The patient is recovering in the infirmary. He has lost vision in one eye, possible permanent damage to the lens of the other. At times, he’s cognizant of the fact that he did this to himself. Other times, he insists on blaming someone he calls ‘Mr. Splitfoot.‘” - In reference to E. Hausdorff (2x08)

13. A shadow appears in the surveillance camera footage immediately preceding Edward Lewis’s death by hanging. Strand thinks it may be someone in the cell with him, but a pentagram within a double circle and numbers are also found at the scene. (2x09)

14. The TBT team discuss “Mr. Splitfoot” in reference toThe Fox Sisters, mediums from the mid-1800’s who later admitted to be frauds. They had repeatedly made reference to a “Mr. Splitfoot,” who they later identified as Charles B. Rosna, who had been murdered with a butcher knife. Strand then clarifies that “Mr. Splitfoot” is “one of many names for the Devil” on the East Coast. (2x09)

15. The team discusses the totems at Urraca Mesa after Nic discovers that there had originally been five. Alex asks, “maybe someone had to destroy the last two totems to complete the ritual?” and promptly finds from John Uvela that the final two totems have fallen. 

Upon closer inspection of the Urraca Mesa petroglyphs, Alex decides that the tall figure surrounded by circular figures that she once thought were armies carrying weapons and saluting a shadow leader may, in fact be an orchestra with their instruments, following a conductor. (2x12)

16.  Simon Reese leaves a voicemail for Alex in the season 2 finale:

“I’m sure by now you’ve realized the interconnectedness of all things. Or, at least the interconnectedness of your things. The children, the shadows, the doors, they’re all… they’re here for Him.

“Some call him the Adversary, some call him other things, but if you build it, he will come. And when he does, he brings chaos, and madness, and death.

“What you’re calling the Unsound? That wasn’t what you thought it was. You weren’t going to die within a year. That was only the first gate. There are five gates, Alex. You have to hear all five in a row in order to be infected.

"You see, Alex, it’s a curse… it’s a virus. The end is not coming with a bang, but within each of us. Those who hear the five movements of the Mysterium, in order, will be followed by a darkness, by evil. When they turn out the lights, their darkness will be a little darker than most. When they look into the shadows, they’ll see a little farther than most. And when the time is come, they will enter his kingdom, and the world will be lost. Goodbye, Alex.”  (2x12)

Mystery: The Unsound and The Music of the Apocalypse
Updated: 8/16/16

SPOILERS THROUGH 2x12


1. The Unsound is first brought to the TBT team by Keith Dabic, former member of Hastur Rising, after the violent suicide of their lead singer, Jeff Wendt.  [Ed note: Hastur is the name of a demon in the Cthulhu mythos, which is tied in-universe to the Cult of Tiamat.] Keith brought The Unsound to the band after an encounter with a zealous fan, who pointed him to a source on the deep web. Jeff became obsessed with the Unsound and worked it into several compositions before his suicide. He may have seeded the compositions to over six million people. (1x03)

2. The Unsound is neither natural nor artificial. The most common story involving The Unsound is that it summons and/or invites a demon into our world. The lore holds that anyone who hears the Unsound dies within a year of hearing it. (1x03)

3. Other rumors involving the Unsound is that it was created by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the Freemasons, and/or Aleister Crowley. Strand says one possible origin is from a research station in Antarctica that picked up a strange audio pattern in 1962. Speculation included a “whale stranded under the ice, or the wind, or electromagnetic waves themselves, or more likely a combination of the three.” All of the researchers who heard this sound died within the year. (1x03)

4. There is an additional bit of information from the Gnostic Gospels: the Unsound may be a musical “backdoor” built by Satan. “Something sonic that would allow Satan and his minions back into the world without God knowing.” God is unable to hear The Unsound. (1x03) For other in-universe references to the Gnostic Gospels, see The Cult of Tiamat.

5. According to Dr. Michael Pullman, structural acoustitian, “the Unsound behaves very much like a low frequency wave. We’re not supposed to be able to hear these frequencies, yet here it is, emitting an audible sound.” (1x03)

6. Travis Collinwood, Strand’s employee, died within a year of listening to the Unsound. (1x03)

7. Keith Dabic calls from Russia to say that he found a way to neutralize the Unsound’s curse on the deep web,  thanks to a composer named Percival Black. He says Black is working on a new piece, and instructs Alex to look into Alexander Scriabin. Images he sent, possibly from Black’s journal, feature a numbers sequence: 1.01364335043922. That is revealed to be a Pythagorean comma by Sandra Singh of Washington State University. The Pythagorean comma may be the key to witnessing a fragment of the universe’s design. (1x09)

8. Later in the episode, Keith Dabic emails the TBT team a sound file. Dr. Pullman later reveals that it is the Pythagorean comma, ascending. (1x09)

9.Alexander Scriabin Bio– [Ed note: though Scriabin is a real person, all that follows is information gleaned in-universe.] Alexander Scriabin was a Russian composer from the early 20th century. He was known for composing disturbing music. He composed a black mass, and said his piano sonata was “against God.” Scriabin refused to play his own 6th sonata, which contained many augmented fourths, the “devil’s interval.” Scriabin became obsessed with composing a piece, which he titled “The Mysterium,” but he died before he could finish it. He wanted to build a temple in the Himalayan mountains where he could perform it. He believed it would cause the universe to implode, ushering in the apocalypse. After Sciabin’s death, another composer, Alexander Nemptin, attempted to finish the Mysterium. Nic thinks that the sound file Keith Dabic emailed may have been a portion of Nemptin’s mysterium. (1x09)

10. Percival Black Bio– Percival Black is an English composer. moved to Bath, England in the 1983’s, and lied about being a music student at the school when he did so. (1x11) He may have moved to Bath to be near Boulder Field, which contains a cave full of cave paintings (including an upside-down face) and may have been the site of ritual sacrifice. At some point after leaving England, Black Joined the Order of the Cenophus in at their Saransk Abbey in Mordovia, Russia. (1x11)

We later find that in 1985, the same year as Black joined the Order of the Cenophus, he paid a visit to the Sagamore Hotel in NY state under the assumed name, “John Smith.” He was not seen by anyone and ordered that he not be disturbed for the length of his stay. He paid an exorbitant fee to have his grand piano lifted in and out of his third floor room’s window by crane.  During his stay, there were strange sounds emanating from an elevator shaft, like the “whining of a sick animal, or a low murmur of a dying man.” “Evil notes” coming from his room scared the cleaning staff, and one maid who peeked through his peephole was frightened when she saw him staring back at her through it. Though he was clearly alone and not at the piano, the music continued. A recording taken during this time is curiously similar to the Unsound. All in all, seven people from the hotel were hospitalized during the week, possibly due to exposure to a high level of infrasound. Once Black checked out, the sounds stopped, and all strange occurrences ceased. Three sources also claim that Black played private concerts at around this time. Alex posits that Black was possibly sent to the US as part of his Order of the Cenophus initiation, or possibly to check in with American chapters of the order, like the Brothers of the Mount. (2x10)

Percival Black does an interview with Alex in 1x09, and states that he may begin performing agin soon. He denies that he knows Keith Dabic and quickly disconnects the call as soon as Dabic and Scriabin’s names are brought up. In 1x10, Amalia tells us that Percival Black has taken a vow of silence.  Alex posits that the Order of the Cenophus is trying to bring about the apocalypse by having Percival Black finish Scriabin’s Mysterium. (2x04) It is suggested by Nic that Percival Black may want to play a completed version of the Mysterium at a specific place and time, the “Axis Mundi.” This may refer to Mt. Ararat. (2x10)

Strand states that there is no way that a symphony could be played atop Mt. Ararat, which was also the mythic site upon which Noah’s Ark came to rest after the great flood. He says that the site furthermore has significance in pre-Christian, Armenian myth. He says that the 17,000 ft elevation would make it nearly impossible to carry instruments to the top without mountaineering gear. (2x11)

11. The unknown poacher (and likely Brother of the Mount) from 2x02 possessed a book, under 100 pages, that is later described as a grimoire by Brenda Miller. One of her contacts in Poland said that passages from the book are similar to the Song of Omphalos, which is in turn allegedly based on the Seikilos Epitaph, the earliest recorded fragment of song. The Polish friend furthermore suggests that the book could be a Satanic hymnal of sorts, and the Song of Omphalos specifically about ushering in the apocalypse and an age of demonic rule. (2x04)

12. During 2x04, Alex and Nic become aware of a countdown timer which has been posted to social media. It ticks down from April 23rd, 2016 at 3:15 PM – exactly one year since they first listened to the Unsound, a fact which would be known only to a select few. (2x04)

13. During 2x05, Keith Dabic emails the TBT team: “Dear Alex, Please see the attached file. I think I figured this thing out. I should be dead. I’ve passed the one year mark. If I am still alive, and I believe I am, it’s because of this. I’ll be back in touch soon. Trying to come home. Keith Dabic.” Attached was a sound file that Alex thinks is the anecdote for the Unsound. 

14. Later, Dabic later sends a second attachment described as “loud” and “warbling.” Dr. Pullman says that it is not the Unsound, and is man-made. He describes it as “infrasound” (any sound under 20 hertz, too low for the human ear to pick up) which can cause people to feel sickened (nausea, headaches, pain in the eardrums) and paranoid if exposed to it. It can even cause hallucinations and a heavy sense of dread. He furthermore explains that the Unsound is unusual because it is infrasound that people can, in fact, hear. (2x05)

15. Soon after this exchange, there is yet another email: a photo of Dabic in a long hallway built of stone. It is geotagged from Glushka, the monastery of the Order of the Cenophus. (2x05)

16. Simon Reese describes Alex Reagan as “one note in the symphony of the universe.” (2x06)

17. Over the course of 2x06, Alex finds that Amalia has been emailed The Unsound from Alex’s email account.

18. Simon Reese tells Alex that the Brothers of the Mount were “trying to raise a chorus of voices. Childrens’ voices. My voice.” (2x09)

19. Amalia sends a photo to Alex that appears to show that Keith Dabic has committed suicide by jumping from the tower at Glushka. His family is unreachable for comment. Later, a sound file from a Bulgarian user called “Hastur” is emailed to the Strand Institute. Its purpose and specific origin are as-yet undiscovered. (2x09)

20. Alex Reagan posits that The Mysterium and The Unsound have been created specifically to let demons into our world. (1x10) [Ed note: duh, Alex.]

21. Nic and Alex receive yet another mysterious sound file from “Hastur.” It is titled “Code ED [redacted].” Nic posits it may be a code for the longitude/latitude of Chattahoochee National Forest, 2 hours northeast of Atlanta. (2x11)

22.  Upon closer inspection of the Urraca Mesa petroglyphs, Alex decides that the tall figure surrounded by circular figures that she once thought were armies carrying weapons and saluting a leader may, in fact be an orchestra with their instruments, following a conductor. (2x12)

23. The team muses on the four sound files received from “Keith” and their connection to The Unsound. They note that Percival Black exclusively composes symphonies that are five movements long, not the standard four. Each sound file, combined with The Unsound, create the five movements of Black’s Mysterium. Nic also decides that the Axis Mundi is in fact the PNWS studios, which means that having broadcast the files there, the Mysterium may have been already played at the Axis Mundi. (2x12)

24. Simon Reese leaves a voicemail for Alex in the season 2 finale:

“I’m sure by now you’ve realized the interconnectedness of all things. Or, at least the interconnecteness of your things. The children, the shadows, the doors, they’re all… they’re here for Him.

“Some call him the Adversary, some call him other things, but if you build it, he will come. And when he does, he brings chaos, and madness, and death.

“What you’re calling theUnsound? That wasn’t what you thought it was. You weren’t going to die within a year. That was only the first gate. There are five gates, Alex. You have to hear all five in a row in order to be infected.

"You see, Alex, it’s a curse… it’s a virus. The end is not coming with a bang, but within each of us. Those who hear the five movements of the Mysterium, in order, will be followed by a darkness, by evil. When they turn out the lights, their darkness will be a little darker than most. When they look into the shadows, they’ll see a little farther than most. And when the time is come, they will enter his kingdom, and the world will be lost. Goodbye, Alex.”  (2x12)

Mystery: The Order of the Cenophus / The Brothers of Mount
Updated: 8/16/16

SPOILERS THROUGH 2x12

1. The Order of the Cenophus were once a part of the Benedictine order. Per Dr. Rufus Carmichael in 1x11, the Order was founded by St. Benedict of Nursia in the 6th century. In the 13th century, a monk named Herman committed a sin so grave, he was to be executed by being walled up within the monastery of Podlažice in the Czech Republic. To escape death, he swore that he would reproduce the Bible within one year, which was impossible to do by hand. The night before the deadline, he is said to have sold his soul to Satan, and the work was completed. The finished book was the Codex Gigas, which has a large illustration of the Devil in it, and is as such called “The Devil’s Bible.” It became the Abbott’s favorite book, though it is not a complete Bible– it is a selection of books from the Latin Bible, along with several historical texts, and a listing of the monks at Podlažice. (1x11)

At some point, a list of rules of the order were torn from the Codex. Herman’s apprentice, Soběslav, may have done so to endanger the sale of the Codex. After the sale of the Codex, Soběslav set about reproducing the Codex from memory. The result was a new book, The Cenophus, of which there is no recorded copy. (1x11)

2. One of the main bases of the Order of the Cenophus is Glushka monastery in Bulgaria. They are sometimes called “pale robes,” owing to the strange nature of their light grey robes. In 1792, a monk named Ivan, rumored to have sold his soul to the devil, committed suicide by jumping from a window in Glushka. (1x10)

3. In 1983, an American psychic, Clara Simone, conducted a séance within the walls of Glushka. The spirit she contacted said it was neither the monk, Ivan, nor the children, Nicholas and Sasha. She came to believe it was a very dangerous demon. The monks declined to let her exorcise it, preferring it to be left to them. Clara believes it is because they wanted to know the name of the demon. Simone may also have drawn a tall shadow during her automatic writing. Simone later tells Alex not to speak the demon’s name, as demons love to hear their names, and speaking them may attract the demons. (1x10) [Ed note: This is further proven by the creepy bookseller doing her best to get Alex to speak demons’ names in 2x02. Therefore, if the Order of the Cenophus wanted the demon’s name, it was probably to encourage it into the world.]

4. Regarding the demon board from 1x08, Strand says, “Divaldi had some cult in Eastern Europe perform a dark ceremony over each board, some say it involved the blood of Christians.” It is possible, given the pentagram in two circles and numbers sequence found on the bottom of the board, that the cult could be a reference to the Order of the Cenophus.

5. Percival Black is a member of the Order of the Cenophus, and resides at their Saransk Abbey in Mordovia, Russia. (1x09) He has taken a vow of silence. (1x10)

6. After Amalia begins to look into the disappearance of Keith Dabic in Russia, she finds a note slid under her door that strongly discourages her from looking into the matter further. It is unclear if this is related to Dabic or another case she is working on. (1x10)

7. Edward Lewis, kidnapper of Sebastian Torres, is a member of the Brothers of the Mount. He took Sebastian to a creepy cabin in Portola Redwood State Park, and tells Strand that Sebastian and Simon Reese have gifts. He refers to the cabin as having a “devil’s door.” (1x12) Additionally, Strand says that the cabin in which Lewis kept Sebastian is covered in symbols that made him believe that someone was trying to summon a demon. (1x07)

8. In 1985, a chapter of the Brothers of the Mount were found living in a cave in Colville National Forest, on the Washington/Idaho border. After eviction, the monks that escaped capture were said to be seen heading towards the Pandore River Basin. This is the same river where Sarah Benning’s body was found, and the same year that the Festival of the Upside-Down face was begun in Charlesworth. (1x12)

9. An unknown poacher who had recently been living in a cave in Colville National Forest took his life after engaging in a stand-off with police. (2x02) He possessed a book, under 100 pages, that is later described as a grimoire by Brenda Miller. One of her contacts in Poland said that passages from the book are similar to the Song of Omphalos, which is in turn allegedly based on the Seikilos Epitaph, the earliest recorded fragment of song. The Polish friend furthermore suggests that the book could be a Satanic hymnal of sorts, and the Song of Omphalos may specifically be about ushering in the apocalypse and an age of demonic rule. (2x04) The hunter who initially reported the poacher videoed what looked to be a two-legged deer nearby. (2x02)

10. Geotagging of a photo confirms that Keith Dabic was present at Glushka. (2x05) It is later revealed that it might not have been “exactly” Keith (2x11, see below).

11. Simon Reese says that the blood on the walls initially thought to be Maddie Franks’ belonged to the Order of the Cenophus, after explaining that Maddie was one of those who “prepared the children.” (2x06)

12. As they discuss the spread of hysteria in the E. Hausdorff case in 2x08, Alex and Nic have the following conversation:

Alex: What if… what if something’s spreading? Like… a virus. And it’s been happening for decades, maybe more than that… What if Simon and Hausdorff are just the tip of the iceberg? Like, what if there’s more of them?

Nic: What if it’s not spreading like a virus, but more like a meme? What if there are people going around spreading this strange apocalyptic gospel? Maybe the same group that’s been teaching scary songs to children… Whether you wanna call them the Order of the Cenophus or the Brothers of the Mount, or whatever, couldn’t some group be spreading this message to… a captive audience?

13. Edward Lewis is found hanging dead in his cell in Los Gatos, CA. In one frame, he is sitting, reading. Then the surveillance camera flickers and goes out. When it comes back, Lewis is hanging in his cell. Only 12 frames are missing from the camera: roughly ½ a second. Strand notices a shadow in the cell with him. Present at the scene of his death: a pentagram in a double circle, and numbers. (2x09)

14. At roughly the same time as Lewis’s death, 8 members of what is assumed to be the Brothers of the Mount apparently commit suicide in West Waddell Creek State Wilderness, CA. They had been investigated for building illegal fortifications in an area meant for a one-week stay. The deaths appear ritualistic– they are arranged in a circle, and reports say that they died from wine laced with poison. Present at the scene of the death: a pentagram within a double circle, and numbers. (2x09)

15. Simon Reese does not take direct responsibility for the deaths of Lewis and the other Brothers (Carl, John, Peter, George, Douglas, Shawn, Frederick, and Martin). He says they “had it coming.” He names the Brothers who died, and said, “they killed themselves when they started down the path. They were trying to raise a chorus of voices. Childrens’ voices. My voice.” When Alex asks him if it was about getting revenge, he says, “it’s not revenge I’m seeking. It’s balance.” (2x09) [Ed note: It is also interesting to note that in Lewis’s death, the surveillance camera going out is very similar to what happened with Trent in 2x06.]

16. Amalia sends a photo to Alex that appears to show that Keith Dabic has committed suicide by jumping from the tower at Glushka. His family is unreachable for comment. Later, a sound file from a Bulgarian user called “Hastur” is emailed to the Strand Institute. Its purpose and specific origin are as-yet undiscovered. (2x09)

17. There is much speculation about the Brothers in 2x10. Alex wonders if Percival Black was sent to the US to check in with or be initiated by an American chapter of the Order of the Cenophus and/or the Brothers of the Mount. (2x10)

18. Howard Strand’s personal correspondence may make reference to Mt. Ararat, the highest point in Turkey, and one possible location of the Axis Mundi. (2x10) It is possible that the Brothers of the Mount are so named after Ararat, or possibly the Himalayan temple that Alexander Scriabin wanted to play his world-ending concert atop. (1x09)

19.  Strand states that there is no way that a symphony could be played atop Mt. Ararat, which was also the mythic site upon which Noah’s Ark came to rest after the great flood. He says that the site furthermore has significance in pre-Christian, Armenian myth. He says that the 17,000 ft elevation would make it nearly impossible to carry instruments to the top without mountaineering gear. (2x11)

20.  Nic and Alex receive yet another mysterious sound file from “Hastur.” It is titled “Code ED [redacted].” Nic posits it may be a code for the longitude/latitude of Chattahoochee National Forest, 2 hours northeast of Atlanta. Nic wonders if this might be the location of another chapter of monks in hiding. (2x11)

21. Amalia contacts PNWS and says that the body found at Glushka in 2x09 was not “exactly” Keith Dabic, and is believed to be that of a homeless man, a former monk. DNA tests are pending. In doing more investigation on the identity of the body, Nic and Alex match up a picture of Keith taken with Hastur Rising against the photo they received of “Keith” in 2x05. They discover that his eyes have changed color, and there is a seam by his hairline in the later photo. They surmise that someone has sewed Keith’s face to his own. (2x11) [Ed note: it thereby stands to reason that every contact from Keith post-2x05 could have been from faux!Keith.]

22. Coralee Strand believes that Thomas Warren, through Daiva Corporation, has been working with the Order of the Cenophus. They have taken an interest in Richard Strand, believing that he possesses a “genetic key” that will help them achieve their ends. (2x12)

Mystery: The Gifted Children
Updated: 8/16/16

SPOILERS THROUGH 2x12

Confirmed and possible “gifted children”: This includes children who have exhibited psychic ability, and/or been connected to the Shadow Man / strange symbols / demonic possession over the course of the series.

1. Robert Torres

Gettysburg, PA. Later, San Francisco, CA. Since childhood, Torres was haunted by a tall shadow man. It appears in photos of him well into adulthood. (1x01)

2. Sebastian Torres 

Los Gatos, CA. Like his father, Robert Torres, Sebastian is closely shadowed by a tall, spooky figure he calls “Tall Paul” that shows up as a black shadow in photos of him, and also a video. There was a frightening drawing found at the back of his closet: “It looked like it was burned into the back of the wall. But if you followed the darker outlines, it looked vaguely like the outline of a face. Kind of like the face in Munch’s The Scream, but painted by a child in black charcoal. It was definitely eerie in light of everything being talked about. But, to be frank, if you’d pointed that image out to me at any other location, I’d say it was probably a black mold stain.” Sebastian says that “Tall Paul” lives in his closet. Alex also says that his mother disclosed some personal medical information regarding Sebastian, but it was not included on the podcast. (1x02) 

Sebastian is kidnapped in 1x06. In 1x07, Alex and psychic Tannis Braun search for him in Portola Redwood State Park, and found later in the same episode (three days after his disappearance), just 5 miles north of where they had been searching. He is apparently unharmed. (1x07)

The cabin in which he was found frightens Braun, and it is covered in “cave-like” paintings, occult glyphs, numbers, and the same creepy drawing as was found in Sebastian’s closet, which Strand says is a demon, an “elemental.” He names it “Asog. Aka Manah. Grigori.” (Grigori is also the arch-demon named in the exorcism of Jessica Weldon.) Strand comments that it looks as though someone was trying to summon a demon in the cabin. They also discuss the drawings’ relation to the golden ratio, and find that at a certain time of day, sunlight projects a cross on the wall. It appears that the cabin contains a devil’s door on the south wall, created to let something in. (1x07)

In 1x12, it is revealed that Edward Lewis, of the Brothers of the Mount, abducted Sebastian, and acknowledged his “gifts.“

3. Sarah Benning 

Charlesworth, WA. Perhaps not a gifted child, exactly, but she is strongly connected to the upside-down face image that has frequently popped up over the course of the investigation. In 1957, a 17 year old girl named Sarah Benning, who was bullied by the other girls in her class, murdered the homecoming queen, Catherine Williams. She slit Williams’ throat, and the story is that she sliced off Williams’ face and stitched it back on, upside-down. Benning’s body was found in the Pandore River, the last suspected whereabouts of one chapter of the Brothers of the Mount.

Townspeople say that the spirit of Catherine Williams is the girl with the upside-down face, and to commemorate her, they wear their Halloween masks upside-down for the festival. However, Crystal DeNevers disputes this, saying that it’s actually Sarah Benning who haunts the town, and that she stitched Williams’ face on her own, upside-down. Sheriff Boyd Osenga notes that both the graves of Sarah Benning and Catherine Williams were desecrated. Nothing remains of Sarah Benning. Catherine Williams’ body remains, but someone had removed her face. (1x04)

4. Derek 

Derek was possessed as a child, and exorcised by a Father Johnson. Derek recounts that his possession began after a game of Ouija. Describes his possession as a “thick cloud” over his life, from which he recovered after exorcism. (1x05)

5. Jessica Wheldon 

Exorcised at age 12, she was extremely violent and incredibly strong. Present were the exorcist, Father Peter Vincent, “John,” and Richard Strand, who recorded the event. It was her fourth exorcism. During this encounter, Father Vincent says he encountered “the Grigori,” an arch-demon, who is “watching.” Also describes the Grigori as “the elemental.” (1x05) [Ed note: interestingly, in Christian theology, the Grigori are collectively, a class of angels, also called “watchers,” who fell from Heaven with Satan.] As an adult, Wheldon says she was “brainwashed,” and remembers feeling like someone else was taking over her body and her mind. She had evil thoughts, terrible dreams, and one one occasion attacked and bit her mother, filled with fury. Her parents died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning. She also recalls having a babysitter who taught her “strange songs,” and also men in black suits at her fourth exorcism. (2x07)

5. Simon Reese 

Reese his murdered his parents when he was 11 years old and was sent to Three Rivers State Hospital in Idaho. Until recently, he was a selective mute. Currently 18 years old. Potentially may be able to bi-locate to harm other patients in the hospital– although security cameras cut out when this occurred. Has extensive knowledge of sacred geometry; occult symbols (including the pentagram within two circles) and numbers pop up in his rooms and places he is suspected to have gone. Strand identifies some of these as Sumerian in origin, connected to the Tower of Marduk, the national God of Babylon. A Sumerian glyph to Anzû is drawn on the south wall to his room, a possible “devil’s door.” (1x06)  

Simon tells Alex that he has learned to hide from “his” sight. When Alex asks if “he” is God, he says no.

 This same “he” doesn’t like Trent, or Alex. Others’ prayers may have a painful effect on Simon. (1x06) Simon is specifically referred to as “gifted” by Edward Lewis of the Brothers of the Mount. (1x12)

In 2x06, Simon contacts Alex. He says, “I was chosen. I don’t remember exactly how, but I have memories, long memories, of when I was an infant. I was just a baby, and a woman came to me and talked. Whispered. Names, incantations. She opened a door, and it never closed for me… There are mechanisms greater than you. Greater than me. And they’ve been at work for thousands of years. I was to be a cog in that, I was called to play my part.” He also says that his mother was the one who “opened the door” for him, and was one of “them,” likening her to Maddie Franks– those who “prepared the children.”

He then confirms that he did kill his parents, because they were “a part of it.” He also says, “I’m not what you think I am. I think sunsets are beautiful,” possibly signaling that he has decided not to help to end the world. “I want what you want… to watch sunsets.” He describes Alex as “one note in the symphony of the universe.” He also suggests that something is awry with Amalia. (2x06)

At some point, Simon breaks out of Three Rivers. (2x08) During the course of 2x09, Alex receives a mysterious text that says “call me, please.” It is Simon. He states that the Brothers of the Mount and Edward Lewis (all of whom are recently deceased under suspicious circumstances, including one instance of a security camera going out, as it had with Trent) “had it coming. He names the Brothers who died, and said, “they killed themselves when they started down the path. They were trying to raise a chorus of voices. Childrens’ voices. My voice.” When Alex asks him if it was about getting revenge, he says, “it’s not revenge I’m seeking. It’s balance.” He then tells Alex to focus on finding Thomas Warren’s machine: “find the machine, and you’ll find the man behind it.” (2x09)

In 2x12, Alex receives another voicemail from Simon. He says:

“I’m sure by now you’ve realized the interconnectedness of all things. Or, at least the interconnecteness of your things. The children, the shadows, the doors, they’re all… they’re here for Him.

“Some call him the Adversary, some call him other things, but if you build it, he will come. And when he does, he brings chaos, and madness, and death.

"What you’re calling the Unsound? That wasn’t what you thought it was. You weren’t going to die within a year. That was only the first gate. There are five gates, Alex. You have to hear all five in a row in order to be infected.

"You see, Alex, it’s a curse… it’s a virus. The end is not coming with a bang, but within each of us. Those who hear the five movements of the Mysterium, in order, will be followed by a darkness, by evil. When they turn out the lights, their darkness will be a little darker than most. When they look into the shadows, they’ll see a little father than most. And when the time is come, they will enter his kingdom, and the world will be lost. Goodbye, Alex.”

6. Tannis Braun 

A gifted psychic, claims to be able to intuitively search for missing persons by feeling a “pull” and has shown to be very accurate in blind read tests. Knows that Sebastian has been abducted by someone with “dark intent” and gets within five miles of his abduction site. Says his powers have been unlocked “since birth” and claims to be able to bi-locate. Richard Strand has a strong dislike for Braun. (1x07) Braun later suggests that this dislike is because Richard is “unsettled” by his abilities. Braun suggests that the Black Tapes are all connected, and is the one to tell Alex to check into “Cheryl.” (2x04) Strand tells Alex that he had been out of the country when his father, Howard Strand, passed away, and that the University where Howard passed away ended up auctioning off some of his belongings. Braun had been the winning bidder on some of Howard Strand’s books. In the lot he received, was the “Cheryl” tape, which Braun returned to Strand. Strand believes that in doing so, he was “challenging” Richard, “saying he believes my mission of debunking the paranormal is a direct result of my insecurity stemming from this incident.” (2x05) 

7. Katie Yi 

Seattle, WA. A six year old whose mother believes she is one of the special children. Her father died when she was three years old. Katie has an invisible friend that she refers to as a he, and her mother, Rebecca, has experienced strange sounds around their home. Other times, furniture moves. At one point, a crow flies in their window and dies, preceded by a dark shadow. There are sigils, pentagrams, and numbers carved beneath her heavy sleigh bed, which her mother says takes many men to move. Rebecca says Katie has also drawn symbols similar to Simon Reese. Elizabeth Sawyer, the nanny, says that Katie’s mother, Rebecca, is mentally ill and/or faking the strange events. (2x01)

8. Robbie Hochman 

Seattle, WA. Robbie is a toddler. His mother, Wendy, has heard strange noises coming from his baby monitor, like a cat howling. Dr. Pullman analyzes this sound and concludes that it sounds like whatever it is is “singing.” Wendy also reports feeling “something” in his room at night. A pentagram within two circles found beneath his crib. Nic uncovers audio of Maddie Franks, the Hochmans’ housekeeper, chanting over Robbie’s bed, and saying, “Oh, you like him, don’t you? … Don’t let mommy hear you. You are going to love your new life, my boy… Goodbye, little one… Serve him well.” After this, Wendy Hochman is reported missing. (2x03)

Nic and Alex break into the home in search of Wendy, and find a horrific scene: “The apartment looked like it had been torn apart, like in the movies. Ransacked. Furniture was overturned, drawers opened, broken glass covered the kitchen floor. And there was a buzzing, a deep electrical sound. In the dim light that came through the hall, we could see that one of the walls looked like it had been painted black. Which was strange, considering the other walls were an off-white color. Nic finally turned on the light, and… well. The wall wasn’t black. It was covered in blood. A lot of blood.  But the buzzing wasn’t from anything electrical. There were thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of flies. It was at this point that the small his us. Hard. A sick, sweet metallic scent. Wet iron crossed with… rotting meat and honey. And that’s when we saw it. In the center of the living room, hanging by an orange extension cord from the ceiling fan, was the housekeeper, Maddie. ” (2x03)

Later, we find that the blood on the wall wasn’t Maddie’s, and that the wall beneath the blood was covered in numbers and arcane symbols. (2x05) Simon Reese says that the blood belongs to the Order of the Cenophus. (2x06)

9. Cheryl Strand Baker 

Summerville, PA. Able to see the “tall men” in the Black Tape titled “Cheryl.” She says they want to come in their house, and after her brother, Richard, opens the window, she says that they’re “inside now.” The camera pans towards a wall, and then back to Cheryl, who is staring at something unseen on the ceiling. She says “hello” to it. (2x05) As an adult, Cheryl describes them as “tall, thin giants.” Of the one inside the house, she says, “Yes. That one was tall. The top of its head would have touched the ceiling, but it was hunched over like something… like… a twisted, crooked tree. It’s eyes were huge. Unblinking. Its arms were kind of shaking… as if it was getting ready to… it was excited. And there was a smell. A swampy… sick, musty sweat in the air. It smiled then. A crazed smile. I froze…and its fingers. They were long, incredibly long… it pointed at me.” She says that Richard was convinced that the tall men were after their family. (2x06)

10. Richard Strand 

Summerville, PA. Later: Chicago, IL, and Seattle, WA

Early life: 

The boy in the video, “Cheryl.” (2x05) After describing the tall shadow men she saw in the video, Cheryl Strand says that Richard became convinced that the tall men were after their family, and so told their parents, but was beaten for it. (2x06) However, we do know that their father, Howard Strand, kept the video, “Cheryl,” until his death, which is odd if he did not believe Richard. (2x05) When their mother got sick, Howard refused to come back from abroad, so Richard cared for her instead. (2x07)  At a certain point, Howard began “taking an interest” in Richard, bringing him rare archaeological gifts from his travels abroad. (2x08) 

The Discovery of Bobby Mames:

Strand appears to have used similar psychic tools to locate the body of Bobby Mames in 1976 as Tannis Braun previously described during his search for Sebastian Torres in 1x07. Wesley Coates, the younger brother of one of Richard’s childhood friends, says that as they searched for the body of the neighborhood boy along Red Bank Creek, Richard seemed not to know exactly where he was going, but kept saying “I think it’s this way,” as though going on intuition. He eventually lead them right to the body. (2x10)

In a discussion with Wayne Coates, Wesley’s older brother, more of young “Richie” Strand’s character is expounded upon. Wesley says that there was “always something different about Richie… he was real honest, like it would physically hurt him to tell a lie.” He goes on to say, “he was the most honest kid I’ve ever known, and fiercely loyal… he was never a fighter, but man, that kid had guts.” He went on to tell a story about Richie defending him from a group of bullying older boys.

He furthermore says that Richard was the “most serious teenager you’ve ever met,” and that he “hated standing out more than anything,” which is why he believed Richard when he said that he knew where to find Bobby. Wesley explains that one night after Bobby’s disappearance, he found Richard staring out into the distance, and saying he knew where Bobby was. He said Richard had detailed a vivid dream about Bobby, and said that he felt like the real world was actually the dream world, and he was still asleep. He also described his dream-life as “distorted.” Detailing the dream about Bobby, Richard described the exact location where his body was found, and said he’d seen Bobby standing there, in a green sweater, pointing at the ground. Wayne also says that for a time, Richard was the prime suspect in Bobby’s murder. (2x11)

In a discussion with Alex Reagan in 2x12, Strand disputes using psychic tools to find the body, saying that he’d led his friends to “many” places before finding the final spot. He said he’d been obsessing over the case, owing to his mother’s reaction to Bobby’s disappearance. He said that it “shattered” her, and affected her more than “it should have.” He believes that it was his desire to solve the disappearance for his mother that caused his vivid dream, and feels that Wayne’s shock over finding the body has affected his recollection. He downplayed any psychic connection, because he did not want to cause his mother additional stress. Still, despite his denial of psychic gifts, he later attempts to use them in 1997. (2x12)

1990′s and the Disappearance of Coralee Strand: 

In the mid-90’s, he was present at the exorcism of Jessica Wheldon. (2x05) His wife, Coralee, disappeared under suspicious circumstances in 1997. (1x02)  During the first five days of her disappearance, he attempts to use psychic powers to find her. (2x12) For more on this, see The Disappearance of Coralee Strand.  

Richard opened the Strand Institute in 1998, and posted a million-dollar reward for any definitive proof of the supernatural. (1x01) He states that this is partly due to Coralee’s disappearance. (2x12)

2000′s through 2015:

By the mid-2000′s, Strand had established himself as a noted skeptic of the paranormal, and worked within the Institute to debunk paranormal claims. (1x01)  One case he worked on was that of Robert Torres in 2013. His presence may have repelled Tall Paul while he was investigating, as all instances of strange phenomena ceased in Strand’s presence. (1x02)

2015 and Involvement with The Black Tapes Podcast: 

In 2015, Strand is approached by Alex Reagan and begins collaborating with her on The Black Tapes Podcast. (1x01) Together, they investigate many mysteries that seem to be interconnected (and which constitute the basis for this resource).

During an interview, Edward Lewis, the Brother of the Mount who kidnapped Sebastian Torres, asks Strand, “During those quiet times, when it’s just you and the darkness, have you ever felt an other?” He goes on to say, “You have been watched, Richard. All of your life you’ve been watched. You know that… Your refusal to connect the dots will be your undoing, Richard.” He furthermore states that Strand has “all the pieces that need to be fit together,” and that “the Advocate” is watching him. (1x12) 

Strand suspects he has been stalked by people looking for artifacts and information that were once in his father’s possession. (2x05) He was also recorded speaking to Amalia, inquiring after a tall, striking blond woman who won an auction in Russia. Though she confirmed that the woman spoke fluent Russian, she was unable to confirm if the woman was from Malta. (2x06)

Alex Reagan found old letters (from the 70’s or 80’s), in Howard Strand’s former house, hidden behind pictures similar to the creepy painting in Strand’s honeymoon suite. The picture features a squid beast attacking a boat and being speared by men, a clear link to Leviathan/The Kraken/Tiamat. In these letters, which are typed, unsigned, and undated, though probably from the 70’s or 80s, Richard Strand is discussed. It sounds very much as though he is being prepped to assume a position within the cult of Tiamat called “the mantle of the dragon.” The correspondence had a Tiamat stamp, and was postmarked from Istanbul, Turkey It also includes a 14-digit number code which Nic splits into two 7-digit codes in order to point to Mt. Ararat, the highest peak in Turkey. (2x10). Strand denies that the Axis Mundi is Mt. Ararat (2x11), an Nic later decides the numbers are an IP address that point to the PNWS station. (2x12)

In 2x11, Alex and Strand have decided to take a meeting with Thomas Warren. They are greeted by armed guards, and are seemingly rescued by the intervention of Coralee Strand, two of her associates, and a van, which they use to speed away.  They take him to a safehouse, where it is revealed that during their marriage, Coralee had been working for an organization run by the AdvocatethroughThomas Warren. As Warren’s agent, she was tasked with reporting Strand’s whereabouts and protecting him, confirming that The Advocate has been watching Strand as Lewis had previously said. Coralee warns him against Daiva Corporation, stating that they believe Strand’s family hold a “genetic key” crucial to their ends, and says she believes that they may be working in conjunction with the Order of the Cenophus. After this short conversation, Coralee leaves, and Richard says that he does not expect to see her again. (2x12)  For more on this, see The Disappearance of Coralee Strand. 

Strand finally meets with Thomas Warren in the season 2 finale, and Warren offers him a job on their team as they work on some “altruistic” project. As payment, Warren offers to fund The Strand Institute, whose coffers have dwindled over the years. Warren also reveals that Howard Strand did not, in fact, die in an accident, but was murdered. He said that Howard had worked for Daiva Corporation for seven years, and was working there when he was murdered. (2x12) 

11. “John” 

Another possessed child. As an adult, John was also present at the fourth exorcism of Jessica Wheldon, and recalls seeing men in business suits there. He himself was possessed five years before Jessica, but was “cured” by a man in a business suit with a strange machine. In addition, Alex describes the scene of the exorcism: “but there, on the wall opposite John’s feet, were symbols. Numbers. Circles. Pentagrams. And at the center, what appeared to be a face. A face with the eyes where the mouth should be, and the mouth where the eyes should be. This was not a church. This was something else entirely.” (2x07) The strange machine was likely one from Luciternica Resources, owned by Daiva Corporation. (2x10)

12. E. Hausdorff

An institutionalized patient at Riverview Mental Hospital in Coquihalla, BC. At one point, he is sedated for screaming about a  “shadow army and the end of days.” Repeatedly references “Mr. Splitfoot” and also “the Adversary.” Also obsessed with sacred geometry, and his room contains drawings similar to those at Urraca Mesa and Bath. Is paranoid, highly violent and has self-harmed himself and others. May have been trying to give himself an upside-down face by peeling his face off with a butter knife. At some point, a religious therapy attempted by a Father Agostini had a brief, but non-permanent ameliorating effect. After this effect wears off, a “hysteria” spreads among the other patients, with at least six mimicking the drawings in Hausdorff’s room. A nearby patient also claims “visitations by dark, ghostly women.” (2x08)

Strand thinks that some of the symbols that show up in Hausdorff’s room may “point to another kind of watcher. A guardian. A protector. Someone or something that watches and only steps in when necessary, or when their steward is ready.” However, pages in his book are missing, so he cannot say more. (2x08) For more on this, see The Pilori. 

The information we have on Hausdorff comes from a box of papers and tapes found, dating from 1971-1975. (2x08) In 2x09, Strand says that the tapes that we heard had to have come from a later time period, as Dissociative Identity Disorder was not a term used by the medical community until the DSMIV in the mid-90’s. The team posits that Hausdorff may have been admitted to Riverview in the 70’s, his condition only worsening in the 90’s. Strand later finds an E.H. In the registry for Colquitz (formerly the “Provincial Home for the Criminally Insane, closed in 1964). The E.H. In the registry was admitted for murdering his parents, just like Simon Reese. (2x09) [Ed note: this would potentially put E. Hausdorff’s current age in the mid-50′s, making him roughly the same age as Richard Strand.]

Regarding E. Hausdorff in 2x08, Alex asks, “What if… what if something’s spreading? Like… a virus. And it’s been happening for decades, maybe more than that… What if Simon and Hausdorff are just the tip of the iceberg? Like, what if there’s more of them?”

Nic replies, “What if it’s not spreading like a virus, but more like a meme? What if there are people going around spreading this strange apocalyptic gospel? Maybe the same group that’s been teaching scary songs to children… Whether you wanna call them the Order of the Cenophus or the Brothers of the Mount, or whatever, couldn’t some group be spreading this message to… a captive audience?”

Mystery: The Pilori and Watchers
Updated: 8/16/16

SPOILERS THROUGH 2x12

1. Strand says he found “watchers” similar to the “Pilori” in the photos found at Riverview Mental Hospital in Coquihalla, BC. He says the Pilori are similar to fairy folkorpixies, and can be extremely malevolent, sometimes murdering children and feeding them to their parents. Per Strand, a Pilori would have to “stay with the child, protecting and guiding them until they grew up. Until they were old enough to… make the sacrifice.” They then “bleed the children on the altar, to the old god.” Also referred to as “blacklings, imps,satyrs.” (2x08).  

2. He furthermore says that “The Pilori believed that symbols and sounds had power. They held that there were certain sigils that could summon or bind. They carried thin iron rods which they would strike to create harmful sounds.” (2x09)

3. Strand says that Rumpelstiltskin was a member of the Pilori, “a watcher of the highest order.” Folklore indicates that if you learned his name, you’d be granted power over him, but Strand found that it was his sigil, not his name that grants this power. (2x09)

4. The sigil that Strand speaks of in conjunction to Rumpelstiltskin was found in a journal written by Strand’s father Howard, found in a safety deposit box, as well as on the inside of Coralee’s ring. (2x09) It may also be the same sigil on the outside of the machines created by Luciternica Resources & Daiva Corporation. (2x10) Strand says that the symbol can either summon or bind a member of the Pilori. (2x09)

5. Various human women are described in similar terms to the Pilori. Simon Reese said, “I was chosen. I don’t remember exactly how, but I have memories, long memories, of when I was an infant. I was just a baby, and a woman came to me and talked, whispered, names, incantations. She opened a door, and it never closed for me… There are mechanisms greater than you. Greater than me. And they’ve been at work for thousands of years. I was to be a cog in that, I was called to play my part.” He also says that his mother was the one who “opened the door” for him, and was one of “them,” likening her to Maddie Franks– those who “prepared the children.” He also said that some of these women are “nurses.” [Ed note: possibly a connection to Riverview Hospital?] (2x06) Likewise, Jessica Wheldon reports having a similar babysitter. (2x07) 

6. We also hear the term “watchers” in 1x05, in relation to the exorcism of Jessica Wheldon.  During this encounter, Father Vincent says he encountered “the Grigori,” an arch-demon, who is “watching.” Also describes the Grigori as “the elemental.” (1x05) [Ed note: interestingly, in Christian theology, the Grigori are collectively, a class of angels, also called “watchers,” who fell from Heaven with Satan.]

7. On the doctor’s recording found at Riverview, it is stated that a patients within the hospital are reporting nightly visitations by “dark, ghostly women.” (2x08)

8. As they discuss the spread of hysteria in the E. Hausdorff case, Alex and Nic have the following conversation: 

Alex: What if… what if something’s spreading? Like… a virus. And it’s been happening for decades, maybe more than that… What if Simon and Hausdorff are just the tip of the iceberg? Like, what if there’s more of them?

Nic: What if it’s not spreading like a virus, but more like a meme? What if there are people going around spreading this strange apocalyptic gospel? Maybe the same group that’s been teaching scary songs to children… Whether you wanna call them the Order of the Cenophus or the Brothers of the Mount, or whatever, couldn’t some group be spreading this message to… a captive audience?

10. Richard Strand describes Coralee’s role within the Advocate’s organization as a “watcher.” He says, “she was tasked with reporting my whereabouts, and most importantly, keeping me safe.” (2x12)

The Cult of Tiamat & Sumerian / Babylonian Myth
Updated: 8/16/16

SPOILERS THROUGH 2x12


1. The Sumerian/Babylonian myth of Tiamat is binary. One part regards a creatrix, the other a “monstrous embodiment of primordial chaos.” Strand links the myth of Tiamat to aquatic monsters like “Ctulhu or Cthulhu,Leviathan, the Kraken,” and says the myth concerns “The battle between some cultures’ hero and a chthonic monster.” The battle between the hero and the monster is sometimes called “Chaoskampf,” and the monster is sometimes depicted as a dragon. (2x03)  [Ed note: though Strand defines “chthonic” as “aquatic,” this is not correct. “Chthonic” refers to things pertaining to the underworld, and things that dwell beneath the earth. “Chaoskampf,” however, does pertain to the battle between a cultural hero and a “chaos monster,” which often takes the form of a snake-like serpent, a sea serpent, or a dragon.]

2. A glyph that Strand says is connected to Marduk, a Babylonian god, is found in the room of Simon Reese. [Ed note: Marduk defeated Tiamat in battle. Very interesting.] Additionally, a symbol to bind the Sumerian go, Anzû. is drawn on the south wall to his room, which Strand posits is an attempt to create a “devil’s door.” Of Simon, Strand says: “Those symbols are very specific. Someone’s knowledge of ancient Sumeria, and this type of script in particular, is fairly comprehensive. It’s clear whoever drew those symbols had dug quite deeply into sacred geometry and ancient occultism. And for some reason, Simon Reese is upset with Trent’s conversion to Christianity… It’s not really my field of study. But I did recognize some of those equations. The symbols are adapted from ancient Sumerian, but the equations are from the middle ages. Dark alchemy, a form of what you might call devil worship.” (1x06)

3. The demon board used in the University of Washington experiment in 1993 is linked to Pazuzu, the Babylonian ruler of Demons, and Richard Strand immediately recognizes it from his father’s work. The underside of the board features a pentagram within two circles as well as a number sequence. (1x08)

4. Strand’s father was heavily interested in the Cult of Tiamat and wrote an unpublished paper on the topic. (2x03)

5. Strand believes that Thomas Warren found the Horn of Tiamat during his dig in Hillah, Iraq. (2x03)

6. A symbol linked to the Cult of Tiamat and the Pilori has been found in/on: Coralee’s ring (2x09), Howard Strand’s journals (2x09), a cave painting (2x09) [Ed note: though Alex did find an upside-down face at Urraca Mesa in 1x12, I can’t find an instance of anyone mentioning a Tiamat-related symbol there], and a Luciternica Resources “exorcism machine.” (2x10). Strand says this symbol can be used to summon or bind a member of the Pilori. (2x09) See notes below for elaboration/discussion on this point.

7. Richard Strand suspects he has been stalked by people looking for artifacts and information that were once in his father’s possession. (2x05) Potentially related: be was recorded by Alex Reagan when speaking to Amalia, inquiring after a tall, striking blond woman who won an auction in Russia. Though she confirmed that the woman spoke fluent Russian, she was unable to confirm if the woman was from Malta. (2x06)

8. Alex Reagan found old letters (from the 70’s or 80’s), in Howard Strand’s former house, hidden behind a picture that reminds her of the creepy painting in Strand’s honeymoon suite, where they found Coralee’s coded message. This particular picture features a squid beast attacking a boat and being speared by men, a clear link to Leviathan/The Kraken/Tiamat. In these letters, which are typed, unsigned, and undated, though probably from the 70’s or 80s, Richard Strand is discussed. It sounds very much as though he is being prepped to assume a position within the cult of Tiamat called “the mantle of the dragon.” The correspondence had a Tiamat stamp, and was postmarked from Istanbul, Turkey.

It also includes a 14-digit number code which Nic splits into two 7-digit codes in order to point to Mt. Ararat, the highest peak in Turkey. Nic posits that Mt. Ararat may be the location of the Axis Mundi, where Percival Black will play his Mysterium in an attempt to end the world. (2x10).  Strand states that there is no way that a symphony could be played atop Mt. Ararat, which was also the mythic site upon which Noah’s Ark came to rest after the great flood. He says that the site furthermore has significance in pre-Christian, Armenian myth. He says that the 17,000 ft elevation would make it nearly impossible to carry instruments to the top without mountaineering gear. (2x11) It is later revealed that the Axis Mundi may in fact be the PNWS station. (2x12)

9. In 2x11, there is discussion of the Gnostic Gospels (previously mentioned in 1x03 in reference to The Unsound), ancient texts written between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD, making some of them older than the New Testament, However, due to their content and provenance, they are not considered Biblical canon, and are thus considered New Testament Apocrypha. “Gnostic” comes from the Greek “gnosis,” which means knowledge.  Per Strand, “gnosis”  is a “popular term in Greek philosophy. The Christian Gnostics believed that salvation lay not in Christ, but rather in psychic, or pneumatic souls freeing themselves from the material world via the book of Revelation.”  Nic mentions that Tiamat is also referenced in Revelation as a dragon.

They discuss a section of the Gospel of Thomas, one of the Gnostic Gospels, that Nic forwarded to Strand.  The Gospel begins, roughly translated, “these are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke: Didymos Judas Thomas wrote them down.“ However, Strand says, many scholars believe that it wasn’t Thomas who wrote the Gospel, but an unknown. One possibility is a mystery apostle.

In this Gospel, Greek philosophy, specifically that of Plato, is discussed. There are also references to the Gospel of Truth, a parable involving math. Strand says, it “describes Jesus being sent down to remove ignorance. It claims that Jesus was a teacher, and describes how it is knowledge, rather than faith, that grants salvation, which constitutes eternal rest, describing ignorance as a nightmare.”

He goes on to say that the Gospel of Thomas also references the Parable of the Empty Jar, which is related to a disputed page of the Gospel of Truth dug up on an archaeological dig in Cairo in 1955. He says that if genuine, scholars place this disputed page in the Sahidic fragments, and that his father, Howard Strand, had done a lot of research on the topic. 

Howard Strand had been convinced that the missing page of the Gospel of Truth contained details that are vital to the deciphering information about the opening of the Five Seals. “Let’s just say that the End of Days would be an extremely gentle way of putting it, should the seals be opened,” Richard says.

Nic then produces a photo taken on the 1955 dig that produced the disputed page. Above the opening to the tomb are both the symbol from Coralee’s ring and the symbol of Tiamat. (2x11)

10. In addition to ties to the Cult of Tiamat, Howard Strand also worked for Daiva Corporation, and had done so for seven years before his murder according to Thomas Warren, who was in possession of one of his journals.  Daiva Corporation was also very interested in the Strand bloodline, believing it to be a “genetic key” to achieve their ends. (2x12) [Ed note: does this tie in with the “mantle of the dragon”?]

REGARDING THE VARIOUS SYMBOLS RELATED TO TIAMAT

In 2x09 and 2x10, it is made to sound very much like the symbol of Tiamat is the same as the one found inside of Coralee’s ring (linked somehow to the Pilori) and also the same as found on the Luciternica Resources machines.

See the transcript excerpts below: 

2x09: Strand discusses the Pilori and Coralee’s ring. 

Strand: Rumpelstiltskin was one of the Pilori. A watcher of the highest order. The folklore around this particular character indicates if you learned his name, you’d be granted power over him, but in reality, in the ancient legend involved a symbol, not a spoken name.

Alex: So what? If you discovered his symbol, you’d get some sort of power over him?

Strand: Yes. The word for name and symbol were lost or switched in translation at some point.

Alex: So, what does all this mean?

Strand: I found something in my father’s things. A symbol. It was clearly important to him– he had a safe deposit box here in Seattle. Inside were two journals and a few other items. One of these journals was dedicated to nothing but this symbol. I found the same symbol on the walls of that recent group of cave painting photos. I found the same symbol somewhere else as well.

Alex: Where?

Strand: Coralee had a ring she’d never take off. Never. While we were on vacation in Prague, she needed an emergency appendectomy. Just before her surgery, while she was out, they took off her ring. I saw it sitting in a plastic bag on a side table in her recovery room. I could see the inside of that ring. I could see the symbol. Coralee woke up, and before she said anything to me, she reached for that ring, and became agitated. She was very angry that someone had taken it off.

Alex: And… what do you think that was about?

Strand: I don’t know, but it comes back to this.

Alex: What?

Strand: This symbol.

Alex: Soooo….

Strand: It’s the sign of the Cult of Tiamat.


2x10: Alex describes photos taken from an advanced soldering website that appears to show the Luciternica Resources machines. 

Alex: And there it was, the symbol. The same symbol from the latest batch of cave paintings. The same symbol that had been engraved into Coralee’s ring. It was stamped onto the back of a large machine. A large… exorcism machine. It was small, stamped into a plate similar to a serial number setup. It was located just above the door to the back of the machine. Where a technician was demonstrating an advanced soldering technique in a series of photographs. That symbol appearing on that machine was definitely interesting, but we’ve been unable to dig up anything else related to those machines. Of course, we’re going to keep digging.


HOWEVER in 2x11, we are told that they are two separate symbols. Discussing the site where the disputed page of the Gospel of Truth was found, Alex says, “And there it was. Above the entrance to an ancient tomb in Cairo, from an archaeological dig in 1955, the symbol from Coralee’s ring, right NEXT TO the familiar symbol of Tiamat.” She is clearly referencing two separate symbols.

This is pretty confusing, as prior to that point, they’d been seemingly discussing ONE symbol that linked the ring, the exorcism machine, and the Pilori to the Cult of Tiamat. Doubly so, since moments later, Alex says:

“I knew that Strand’s investigation into Coralee had stalled with Thomas Warren, and that the symbol on that machine, the same symbol that was carved into that Egyptian tomb, and the same symbol that had been engraved into Coralee’s ring pointed directly to Daiva Corporation.”

Is the symbol on Coralee’s ring the same as the symbol of Tiamat, or are we talking about two different, but related symbols? It’s currently unclear. 

Numbers, Math, and the Golden Ratio
Updated: 8/16/16

SPOILERS THROUGH 2x12

1. “Okay, so there are some numbers and symbols drawn on one of the walls. It looks like black crayon or chalk. But near the middle of everything, there’s something else. It looks like a pentagram in a double circle.” - Alex on Simon’s room (1x06)

2. “Trent handed me a book he had been reading at the time for an online course. It was DH Lawrence’s The Man Who Died. Someone had scribbled all over the pages. There were some dragons, knights, even a monster truck. But then, he turned the page and revealed a very different style of drawings. He flipped to the next page, and then the next. Every part of every page that wasn’t text was covered with arcane symbols and numbers. There were thousands of them. The pages looked almost like art. There was one symbol that appeared more than any other, the pentagram with the two circles. The same symbol found in Simon Reese’s cell. But in Trent’s book there were a bunch of numbers around it. They looked like equations, like a really serious math problem. But they were all over the place, not in neat rows like I was taught in school.”- Alex describing a book Trent hands her, which he says that he didn’t draw. More of the same were found on Trent’s wall after he was injured in the same episode. (1x06)

3. Simon: “Everything in this universe is measured. It’s all plus and minus, positive and negative. He knows where everything is down to the very last atom. But… I can hide things from him. From his sight, I practiced it. It was hard at first. There are mechanisms, you know. And even in randomness, even in chaos…” Alex: “Who are you talking about? Who is ‘he?’ God, is it God?” Simon: (snickers) “Not God.” (1x06)

4. “Those aren’t just numbers, doctor.” - Simon, to Strand, re: the numbers in his room. (1x06)

5. “It’s not really my field of study. But I did recognize some of those equations. The symbols are adapted from ancient Sumerian, but the equations are from the middle ages. Dark alchemy, a form of what you might call devil worship.” – Strand (1x06)

6. Numbers and equations are found all over the cabin where Sebastian Torres was recovered. Strand recognizes some as the golden ratio. “It’s a geometric ratio that’s been obsessed over by the greatest mathematical minds for thousands of years. Pythagoras.Kepler. And the rest. There are some who actually suggested that the golden ratio has occult properties. There was a widespread belief that God has built the universe according to mathematical principles- principles that he created. Everything works in a logic consistent with that, in perfect order. But according to certain facets of the Church, Satan’s one goal has been to usurp that mathematical order. To bring chaos to that order. And one of the ways he’s able to do that is by using or twisting the very mathematical principles God created. This equation, apparently, is folding the golden ratio over and over again, onto itself… by doing this within the context of the other equations below it, someone believes they’ll be able to create a… devil’s door.” (1x07)

7. There are numbers and arcane symbols all over the bottom of the demon board used in the Study at the University of Washington. (1x08)

8. Images Keith Dabic sent of Percival Black’s journals include repetitions of 1.01364335043922. Dr. Sandy Singh says this is a Pythagorean Comma. “It used to be that math could explain everything, but then things started to get smaller. We went subatomic, we started measuring things on the quantum scale, and suddenly our math wasn’t so elegant anymore. There were spaces in our equations, gaps, so now there are a large number of mathematicians who view the universe non-Platonically. They believe that math is a human construct: the language we use to describe the universe. But the Pythagorean comma fills in one of these blanks almost perfectly. So, maybe it’s time to rethink things again. The universe may have a code after all. Maybe it’s just a matter of using different kinds of equations to figure it out.” Alex asks, if the Pythagorean comma is a “missing piece in figuring out the universe.” Singh responds, “That’s definitely overstating it. If we’re lucky, it might just open up a small crack, just enough to glimpse a part of its design.” (1x09)

9. Later in the episode, Keith Dabic emails the TBT team a sound file. Dr. Pullman later reveals that it is the Pythagorean comma, ascending. (1x09)

10. Numbers, pentagrams, and sigils all appeared under Katie Yi’s bed. (2x01)

11. Regarding the myth of Tiamat, Strand says, “the number of arms, heads, animal parts and legs, are all significant. This mythology is really packed with… stuff.” (2x03)

12. Coralee leaves numbers for Strand on the back of a creepy painting in the room where they spent their honeymoon. It is a book cipher that Nic later decodes. (2x07)

13. There are numbers, circles, pentagrams, and upside-down faces in the room where “John” is exorcised. (2x07)

14. The walls of E. Hausdorff’s room are covered in numbers. Steve the Dungeon Master TL;DRs about them. “Uh, these are all expressions of the golden ratio, the equations here. Also known as the golden mean, or divine proportion. That is the golden ratio, or phi. It has very simple uses like computing the greatest common divisor of two integers. Real basic Euclidean algorithms and stuff.” He goes on to say, “the world, the universe, is ruled by mathematical principles. Those principles also point to other dimensions. And certain geometric patterns occur throughout nature in beautiful mathematical simplicity. This is one of those patterns. And don’t be fooled into thinking this is all obsolete, just ‘cause it’s ancient. We’re still using this kind of thinking to move us forward… I mean quantum mechanics. They’re both focused on the fringes with gateways, paths to other dimensions. We’ve been looking for these pathways for thousands of years.” He also mentions how math is integral to isosceles triangles, which form pentacles… and are useful for invoking demons. (2x08) 

15. Numbers and pentagrams within double circles are found at the scenes of the deaths of both Edward Lewis (in a jail cell in Los Gatos, CA), and the Brothers of the Mount (dead in a seeming suicide at West Waddell Creek State Wilderness).  (2x09)

16.  In 2x11, They discuss a section of the Gospel of Thomas, one of the Gnostic Gospels. In this Gospel, Greek philosophy, specifically that of Plato, is discussed. There are also references to the Gospel of Truth, a parable involving math. Strand says, it “describes Jesus being sent down to remove ignorance. It claims that Jesus was a teacher, and describes how it is knowledge, rather than faith, that grants salvation, which constitutes eternal rest, describing ignorance as a nightmare.” For more information, see The Cult of Tiamat.

17. The motif of five becomes more and more prominent towards the end of season 2. There have been mentions of the circle of fifths, the pentagram (a five pointed star), the Five Seals of the Gnostic Gospels, and the five totems of Urraca Mesa.

[Ed note: so, it appears that the entire mechanism to open portals to a demon realm is… math. Whether expressed in equations, music, or sacred geometry, math is the basis here, to pervert that perfect mathematical sense of the universe that God intended. Suddenly, I am not so upset I scored so much higher on my verbal SAT.]

The Disappearance of Coralee Strand
Updated: 8/16/16

SPOILERS THROUGH 2x12


1. Richard Strand’s wife, Coralee, disappeared under suspicious circumstances in 1997. (1x02)

2. The couple was on the way to Big Sur, and had stopped at a gas station. (1x02)

3. It was later revealed that Coralee disappeared after an argument. (1x11)

4. Strand went missing for five days after her disappearance. (1x03)  

5. Strand was the main suspect for a time, but was eventually cleared. In addition, Strand assaulted a psychic who was hired to look into Coralee’s disappearance. (1x03)

6. She was certainly hiding something big from Strand before her disappearance– he describes it as “systematic. Hotels, motels, secret meetings.” (1x11)

7. Coralee’s father believe Strand murdered Coralee. Her mother does not, and believes her daughter to be alive due to a postcard she received. (1x03)

8. Coralee had actually been featured on PNWS through found tape collected around the time of her disappearance, in a segment entitled, “Love on Tape: Sound Audio on the Topic of Love.” The tape was found in 1997 by triathlete Carl Harrison, but not sent to PNWS until 15 years later. At the end of the segment, she asks, “Warren?”(1x05) This may be a reference to Warren Beauchamp, a locksmith (1x09), or perhaps Thomas Warren, who Strand believes “had something on Coralee.” (2x03)

9. There is mounting evidence to show that Coralee is indeed alive: a postcard to her parents (“Thinking of you,” 1x04), a cryptic, computerized voice message to the station (“Richard Strand. Please don’t worry. It’s Taddycoram Dickens. I left you something beside the white chickens.” 2x05), and a book cipher message left on the back of a painting in their honeymoon suite (“Leave me. Find Advocate. Simon Reese.” 2x07/2x08).

10. Tina Stevenson of Lake Tahoe has confirmed that the woman she knows of as Lisa Graves is in fact Coralee Strand (1x10), and was verifiably alive as of 1x12. Lisa Graves is the name of Coralee’s college roommate. (1x11)

11. In 2x05, Coralee’s birth name was revealed to have been Harriet. Strand knew that the “Taddycoram Dickens” message was from Coralee because Taddycoram’s real name was Harriet. Coralee changed her name in high school.

12. Coralee may also have been involved in the cult of Tiamat, as she wore a ring with a sigil that had the power to either call or bind a figure of the Pilori. Strand first noticed the ring when Coralee was admitted for an emergency appendectomy in Prague. She was angry that it had been removed. (2x09)  For more on the sigil, see The Cult of Tiamat.

13. When Richard Strand disappeared for five days, his daughter, Charlie, was with him for four of them as he searched for her. (1x09) Though Charlie regards Coralee as her mother, she was not Charlie’s birth mother, who was Canadian (104). After her return, Charlie had little to do with her father, telling Coralee’s parents that she no longer had a father. (1x04) At one time, she petitioned for emancipation, and is not currently in contact with her father. She does say that Coralee’s parents, the Jacobsons, are not the most reliable character witnesses regarding her father. (1x08) Although Charlie was located in Italy in 1x08, she may have returned, per her conversation with Alex in 1x09 (”How was Italy?”). Her current whereabouts are unknown. When questioned about what caused her estrangement from her father, she is repeatedly evasive, telling Alex to ask Strand instead. Strand’s response is that he told Charlie that Coralee had been having an affair, and she had reacted “badly.” (1x10)

14.  In 2x11, Thomas Warren attempted to set a meeting with Nic and Alex. After some clarification, Strand is allowed to come to the meeting, but no recording devices are allowed. As they are about to go in, they see a big security team heading their way, armed with guns. Just before the security team closes on them, Coralee shows up and (ostensibly) rescues them. She says, “get into the van if you want to live.” Richard does not respond with surprise, leading the listener to believe that he’d known about Coralee’s survival for some time, and that she may have in fact been the female “friend” he referenced working with in 2x08. How long Richard has been in contact with Coralee is currently unknown. 

15. The finale of season 2 (2x12) is dense with more information regarding Coralee’s disappearance. Coralee and two of her associates, a man and a woman, take Alex and Strand to a safehouse that Alex thinks is an AirBnB. She and Strand have a conversation in the bedroom, then Coralee leaves.

In information relayed by Richard after her departure, we find that during their marriage, she had been working or “some kind of shadow corporation” led by the Advocate, who she never met, only speaking with Thomas Warren. Her job entailed being a “watcher,” reporting Strand’s whereabouts, and, most importantly, keeping him safe. Coralee admits that she fell in love with Richard, prompting her to protect him from her own organization, as well as another entity. [Ed note: she specifically says “both sides” but does not specify who those sides are.] At that point, her organization kidnapped her, and it seems she escaped and has been on the run from her handlers since. 

Coralee has long been watching Richard, protecting him. Richard had been receiving some messages from Coralee for some time prior to the reveal that she was alive, but does not seem to have actually been in contact with her face to face.

Alex asks Richard an open-ended question about his marriage (”So, did she… was your marriage…?”) to which he replies, “No, it wasn’t.” Whether she was asking if his marriage had begun organically through a love match, or if Coralee had been tasked with marrying him and fell in love later is unclear. Still, Alex thinks that Coralee still loves Richard, and he responds that it is “not a consolation,” and that he doesn’t think he’ll see her again. 

Here is a transcript of the conversation that concerns her disappearance.

Strand: I haven’t fully processed it all. Not yet.

Alex: Of course. Maybe you’ll see her again. One day. Maybe?

Strand: I don’t think so. At least… I’m not going to pin any hopes on that.

Alex: Well, if it’s any consolation, I could tell she still loves you.

Strand: It’s not. 

Alex: Right. Of course not. 

Strand: But thank you.

Alex (in narration): I wanted to debrief Strand, to ask him what Coralee told him. What happened to her? What was going on? But that could wait. The man had just lost his wife… again. We started driving. We drove through the city for a long time. I think he just didn’t want to be alone that night. A little while later, we ended up back at his place.

Alex: I know it’s been a long night for you, but do you mind if I ask you a few more questions? It can wait if you’re tired.

Strand: Can I offer you a drink?

Alex: Sure, thank you. Thanks. (sighs) So…

Strand: She was a watcher.

Alex: Your wife was a watcher? 

Strand: That’s what she told me.

Alex: And you believe her?

Strand: Yes.

Alex: Okay, so, what does that mean, a watcher?

Strand: She was tasked with reporting my whereabouts, and most importantly, keeping me safe.

Alex: What for? I don’t… I don’t understand. 

Strand: She was some kind of an agent for a shadow organization led by the Advocate. 

Alex: The Advocate? So… do we know who he is?

Strand: She told me that she never met him, or her. She spoke only with Thomas Warren.

Alex: Okay. So, did she… was your marriage…?

Strand: No, it wasn’t.

Alex: Oh.

Strand: She told me that she fell in love with me, and she continued to protect me because of that love. She indicated that she began protecting me from both sides at that point. That’s when they took her. That’s when she disappeared, when she turned on her own organization. She was on the run from her handlers. That’s when she was sending me messages. She told me the podcast was making it harder and harder for her to communicate.

Alex: They were monitoring the show? 

Strand: Yes, they were looking for Coralee.

Alex: Okay, well, that sounds… good, doesn’t it?

Strand: What do you mean?

Alex: Well, not that they took her, or that she ended up running from her own organization, but… she really fell in love.

Strand: She warned me… that the Advocate had been watching me for a long time, and he or her or they are preparing something… big.

Alex: Like what?

Strand: She wasn’t sure.

Alex: Why was she watching you?

Strand: My family.

Alex: What about your family?

Strand: For some insane reason, these people believe my family holds a kind of genetic key to whatever… nonsense they’re preparing.

Alex: What do you mean?

Strand: Coralee believes that Thomas Warren himself is the Advocate, and that he’s been working with the Order of the Cenophus to bring about some kind of… something.

Alex: Did she have any evidence, or connections I could confirm?

Strand: She warned me to stay away from Daiva Corporation. She told me that they believed there was something in my family’s genetic makeup that when the time was right, they could manipulate to achieve some ridiculous end.

Alex: Well, it’s a pretty huge company. 

Strand: Yes, that’s concerning. 

Alex: I’ll say.

16. It is revealed in 2x12 that during the first five days of Coralee’s disappearance in 2017, strand went out into the woods and tried to “rekindle” his psychic ability in order to find her. He then denies he had any psychic ability at all, but was simply distraught beyond reason. He calls this attempt a “momentary lapse of judgement.” (2x12)